First Grain of Sand — Page 92
76 FIRST GRAIN OF SAND and commands obedience to them. He alleged this would be tan- tamount to disobeying God Himself! I responded that the same God who commanded obedience to the ruler of the land also has given us His own guidance on many matters, and He told us that in these matters we must obey God's commandments. To this, the prosecutor asked what I would do if the ruler compelled me, punished me, or even ordered my death for disobeying his command. I replied that if I were absolutely certain I would be killed for disobeying, then, perhaps fearing for my life, I might tell the ruler that I would go to another country to spy, as preserving life is important to everyone. This question made me very nervous that day as to what deeper intentions the prosecutor had by asking this of me, but the translator comforted me, saying in Persian [so that nobody else could understand] not to worry and that I answered the question well. The State Prosecutor continued to ask questions along these lines. I clarified that first and foremost, we have no connection with politics and, rather, our foremost responsibility is to preach religion. But as a citizen of a nation, if our country is under attack from an enemy and our government calls upon us to fight to pro- tect the country, that is unrelated to religion and is, instead, a war for the country. Consequently, if necessary, we would take part in that war to save not only ourselves but also our country. At that time, it would not matter if the opposing army includes Ahmadi Muslims because this would be a battle for the sake of our coun- try and our priority should be the interests and security of our country. He continued asking me many more questions like this to which I answered according to my understanding. During my interrogation sessions, many officers would try to